Math Quiz Monday

This Monday kids will take a math quiz over the skills we've learned about so far. I shared this with the kids on Friday; below is a list of the skills that will be on the quiz. 

• writing numbers in standard and written (word) form (millions place to thousandths place)
• writing numbers in expanded form 
• comparing decimals and explaining their reasoning for their answer using place value words 

September 9-12

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Below are the details for the week!

Reminder

-Wednesday is "Picture Day", students brought home their picture order forms last week, and should return them by Wednesday.

5H Math: We continue Unit 1 this week by learning how to represent numbers in expanded form or notation as well as practicing comparing and ordering decimals and rounding decimals. Students should be able to compare and round decimals while explaining their reasoning based on their place value knowledge. Students will have math homework most nights this week. 

I will also start students on a math web site this week, Front Row (www.frontrowed.com). This web site has pre-tests that determine students' needs within Common Core standards. I also like the site because kids can watch a video about the skill if they are having trouble. Kids will try the site out in class on Tuesday and the web site will at times be assigned for homework as well as done in class. 

Language Arts: Last week kids defined and we discussed a number of words related to culture (race, ancestors, ethnicity, etc.). We also talked about what we know about our own cultures. Tomorrow kids will be coming up with questions they have about their cultural backgrounds. If possible, kids will need your help answering questions about your family's cultural background either Tuesday or Wednesday night, so they can come to school Thursday with a bit more knowledge about their background. Students will be putting together a digital collage of images and words that represent their culture. Kids can choose one or more of the cultures that make up their background. The purpose is to think about how each person's culture affects who they are. This will also be a discussion when we analyze fictional and historical people in the texts we read. 

I understand each family has varying levels of knowledge about their ancestor's culture as well as different levels of participation with these facets of your culture; please let this be a time to discuss traditions of your culture whether they are practiced by your family or not. Additionally, American culture and traditions could be discussed, particularly if your family does not feel a strong tie to another culture. 

I am trying out a new (to me) web site for the digital collages. Students will be able to put information they've learned about their culture into the collage in the form of words and images. Students will start working on this in school on Thursday. 

As some of you may know, fifth grade readers have been challenged to a "40 book" challenge the last few years. This will be continued in 5H this year. Students will learn about this, this week! There are several reasons for the challenge, a few of them being...to never stop reading all year long, to begin or nourish a love of reading in all students, to grow students fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and writing abilities and to expose students to a variety of genres. We will be studying different literary and nonfiction genres this week. 

More info to come about this at Curriculum Night. 

Word Study: We continue our lesson on words with closed syllables. We will have our first quiz this Friday (9/12). Students will need to correctly spell words as well as be able to separate the words into syllables and "mark" any closed syllables with "cl".  For those new to our word study program, the students will not receive words to memorize, but we will practice words with the same syllable type in class that will be on their quiz. 

Science: Students will be thinking about the water cycle this week...thinking about the importance of the water cycle, how it really "works", the different states of matter and how clouds are formed. We will then begin to learn about the different forms of clouds and what they can tell us about the weather. 

Community Time: We did not quite get everything in last week as planned, so this week we will start with defining different emotions and discussing how emotions are reactions to events. We will then talk about the difference between comfortable and uncomfortable feelings and later this week begin discussing how to problem solve. 

September 2-5

I hope everyone had a good weekend. We have a busy week ahead of us! Below are details about the week. 

Ice Cream Social: Wednesday 6:30-8:00 (hope to see you there!)
Monday 9/9: No school for students 

Students will take CBMs this week (Thursday and Friday) 

5H Math: We start math Tuesday. Students will take a pretest for unit 1, so I can get to know them as math students. Unit 1 is all about the place value system; a major goal is for students to understand that as they move to the left each digit is 10 times larger, alternatively each digit to the right is 1/10 the value. This week kids will practice reading and writing numbers as well as using expanded notation. 

Throughout the year, students should use the math tab of the blog for practice when needed. The standards for this unit are below. 

Unit 1 Standards: Place Value

5.NBT.1 Recognize that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as it represents in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to its left.

5.NBT.2 Explain patterns in the number of zeros of the product when multiplying a number by powers of 10, and explain patterns in the placement of the decimal point when a decimal is multiplied or divided by a power of 10. Use whole number exponents to denote powers of 10.

5.NBT.3a Read and write decimals to thousandths using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form, e.g., 347.392 = 3 × 100 + 4 × 10 + 7 × 1 + 3 × (1/10) + 9 × (1/100) + 2 × (1/1000).

5.NBT.3b Compare two decimals to thousandths based on meanings of the digits in each place, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.

5.NBT.4 Use place value understanding to round decimals to any place. Language Arts:  Each quarter of the school year, we will have a different theme to help us have a common thread throughout instruction. This first quarter, our theme is Identity. We have already started learning about each other's identities, and will continue to do so. While we'll be learning about ourselves and each other, we will focus on the identities of the characters and historical figures we learn and read about as well.  This week we will listen to and read the lyrics of a song and look for connections to the theme. A heads up. we will begin talking about how culture relates to identity and will soon be thinking about and trying to learn about our own cultures. Your children will need your support with this. Please let me know if this will be a difficult or sensitive project for your child. More details will come home later this week.   Students will have independent reading time most days. Students will be practicing skills and strategies learned during whole group instruction. I will also be meeting with students individually for reading conferences during this time. This week we will be discussing some of the "things" readers do while they're reading (visualizing, predicting, etc.). Last week, I introduced the "Me: in a bag" presentation (directions in homework tab). Students will present on either Thursday or Friday. Before then, I will model my own presentation for students as well as have time for them to ask questions.  Word Study:  We will begin word study this week, with the closed syllable pattern. Closed syllables are those that have a consonant following a vowel, making the vowel short.  Science: Our first science unit is Weather. We begin this week by learning about the layers of the atmosphere and start learning about the tools people use to measure wind speed and direction.  **If anyone knows a meteorologist or professional that uses weather knowledge, we'd love for them to visit the classroom!  Other: These first 20 days of school, we will also be taking part in Social Emotional Learning lessons and discussions as we build our classroom community. This week we discuss what a friend is and how to make friends and then move on to discussion about feelings and emotions.  I will go over BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) expectations with students this week. After doing so, students will be able to bring devices to school with your permission. Students may bring their devices to use as e-readers as well as for use with research and other classroom activities. They will not be needed every day, but students may bring a device every day if they choose. Otherwise,  I will do my best to remind students the day before. Of course, students do not have to have a device. We have a few handheld devices at school and more laptops this year as well!

Welcome Back!

Welcome to a new school year! I'm excited to meet you all and begin another great year. I hope I will meet you this Thursday at Meet and Greet (1:15-2:00). This is an informal event for us to meet each other as well as for students to see their classroom and drop off school supplies.

Throughout the year, I will use this blog to communicate about weekly learning goals. Students can also find links to web sites that connect to our curriculum.  More information to come! Enjoy your last few days of summer! 

June 2- THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR!

Well, the last week is here! It's been such a wonderful year! I've enjoyed spending every day with your kids and getting to know them better each day. It will be a fun week as we wrap things up!

Fifth Grade Farewell is Tuesday 6-8 at the school.

Friday morning we will have our whole school citizenship celebration, which is a field day. Kids should remember to dress accordingly.

5H Math: We'll end math this Wednesday. On Monday, kids will finish up their end of the year test. Kids will get their unit 10 test back on Tuesday. If you're looking for something for your kids to practice over the summer, look at their math checklist that you will see online with their report card. Any skill they are not secure in, would be great practice to get them ready for next year!

Language Arts/Social Studies:

The kids inquiry presentations last week were pretty awesome!!

We will read "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" each day to make sure we finish the book by Friday. I will also be reading a picture book aloud to kids each day. I want to send kids off to middle school with a few messages/reminders. I've chosen picture books with specific messages/themes that we will read and discuss each day.

Kids will have Monday-Wednesday to research and prepare for their Culture Day presentations that will take place Thursday. As a reminder, some kids wanted to use a tri-fold board for their presentation...hopefully they've talked to you about this!

Science: We will wrap up our small life/microscope unit by looking at euglena and paramecium.